Mobile terminal and method of managing application thereof, and system for providing target advertisement using the same

ABSTRACT

A mobile terminal including: a memory having a plurality of applications stored therein; an application management module configured to receive application information corresponding to the respective applications, and generate status information of the applications, corresponding to the application information; and a controller configured to determine execution history information of the applications through the status information provided from the application management module, wherein the application management module includes: an application information collection unit configured to collect cache data size information of the respective applications at preset time intervals; and a comparison unit configured to generate the status information of the applications by comparing the cache data size information of the applications, collected by the application information collection unit, to reference values corresponding to the respective applications.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2018-0004319, filed on Jan. 12, 2018, which is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND Field

Exemplary implementations of the invention relate to a mobile terminaland a method of managing an application thereof, and more particularly,to a mobile terminal and a method of managing an application thereof bychecking and managing execution histories of applications installedtherein, and a system for providing target advertisement using the same.

Discussion of the Background

Recently, with the rapid advancement in computers, electronics, andcommunication technologies, a variety of wireless communication servicesusing a wireless network have been provided. Mobile terminals providingvarious convenience functions through the wireless communicationservices have become necessary belongings for users. Such conveniencefunctions are implemented through applications installed in a mobileterminal by a user.

In general, an application refers a content application program such asschedule management, address book, game, video or music play, and a usermay download an application through an online application store or thelike, and install the application in a mobile terminal of the user.

Recently, with the advancement in communication networks, advertisementsbased on mobile terminals have become widely used. However, due to theincrease of advertisement media, users are extensively exposed toadvertisements such that they are not interested, and thus tend to beindifferent to the advertisements. Thus, advertisers inevitably obtainlow advertisement effects, compared to advertisement expenses that theadvertisers pay.

Therefore, there is a demand for a method capable of providing theoptimal advertisement which coincides with a matter of interest for eachuser.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forunderstanding of the background of the inventive concepts, and,therefore, it may contain information that does not constitute priorart.

SUMMARY

Devices and methods according to exemplary implementations of theinvention are directed to a mobile terminal which can determineexecution history information of applications used by a user amongapplications installed therein and manage the applications using theexecution history information, and a method of managing an applicationthereof.

Also, devices and methods according to exemplary implementations of theinvention are directed to a system for providing a target advertisementwhich decides target advertisement contents suitable for the user ofeach mobile terminal based on application execution history informationmanaged by the mobile terminal, and transmits the target advertisementcontents to the mobile terminal.

Additional features of the inventive concepts will be set forth in thedescription which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the inventive concepts.

According to one or more embodiments of the invention, a mobile terminalincludes: a memory having a plurality of applications stored therein; anapplication management module configured to receive applicationinformation corresponding to the respective applications, and generatestatus information of the applications, corresponding to the applicationinformation; and a controller configured to determine execution historyinformation of the applications through the status information providedfrom the application management module, wherein the applicationmanagement module includes: an application information collection unitconfigured to collect cache data size information of the respectiveapplications at preset time intervals; and a comparison unit configuredto generate the status information of the applications by comparing thecache data size information of the applications, collected by theapplication information collection unit, to reference valuescorresponding to the respective applications.

The mobile terminal may further include a communication moduleconfigured to transmit the status information or the execution historyinformation of the applications to an external server through a networkunder control of the controller.

The mobile terminal may further include a display module configured todisplay a result to a user, the result being sensed by the controllerbased on the status information or the execution history information ofthe applications.

The mobile terminal may further include an audio output moduleconfigured to output a result sensed by the controller based on thestatus information or the execution history information of theapplications as an audio signal to a user.

The reference values corresponding to the respective applications mayindicate accumulated cache data size information of the respectiveapplications before the cache data size information are collected by theapplication information collection unit.

According to one or more embodiments of the invention, an applicationmanagement method for managing an application of a mobile terminalincludes: receiving application information corresponding to a pluralityof applications stored in a memory; generating status informationcorresponding to the respective applications by comparing the receivedapplication information to reference values of the respectiveapplications; determining executions history information of therespective applications based on the status information; and storing theexecution history information of the respective applications and thestatus information corresponding to the respective applications.

The status information corresponding to the respective applications mayinclude cache data size information of the respective applications.

The reference values corresponding to the respective applications mayindicate accumulated cache data size information of the respectiveapplications before receiving application cache data.

The application management method may further include transmitting thestatus information or the execution history information of theapplications to an external server through a network.

The application management method may further include displaying asensing result to a user, the sensing result being generated based onthe status information or the execution history information of theapplications.

The application management method may further include outputting asensing result as an audio signal to a user, the sensing result beinggenerated based on the status information or the execution historyinformation of the applications.

According to one or more embodiments of the invention, a targetadvertisement providing system for providing target advertisementincludes: a mobile terminal having a plurality of applications installedtherein; a network configured to provide a wireless communicationenvironment to the mobile terminal; and a target advertisement providingserver configured to receive status information or execution historyinformation of the applications, transmitted from the mobile terminal,while communicating with the mobile terminal through the network, selecta content of the target advertisement based on the status information orthe execution history information, and transmit the selected content ofthe target advertisement to the mobile terminal.

The mobile terminal may include: a memory having the plurality ofapplications stored therein; an application management module includingan application information collection unit configured to collect cachedata size information of the respective applications at preset timeintervals; and a comparison unit configured to generate the statusinformation of the applications by comparing the cache data sizeinformation of the applications, collected by the applicationinformation collection unit, to reference values corresponding to therespective applications; and a controller configured to determine theexecution history information of the applications based on the statusinformation provided from the application management module.

The reference values corresponding to the applications may indicateaccumulated cache data size information of the respective applicationsbefore the cache data size information are collected by the applicationinformation collection unit.

The target advertisement providing server may include a memory, adatabase, a processor, a communication module, and an input/outputinterface, and the database may be configured to store and retaincontent which is provided by the target advertisement providing serverand classified by field.

The processor may include: a data collection unit configured to collectthe execution history information of the applications, transmitted fromthe mobile terminal; a data processing unit configured to analyze andprocess a user's tendency based on the execution history information ofthe mobile terminal; an advertisement contents selection unit configuredto select content of the target advertisement suitable for a user'sfield of interest among the content stored/retained in the database inresponse to the analysis result of the data processing unit; and anadvertisement contents providing unit configured to transmit theselected content of the target advertisement to the mobile terminal.

In accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the present invention,it is possible to determine execution history information ofapplications used by a user among applications installed in a mobileterminal of the user, and manage the applications using the executionhistory information.

Furthermore, it is possible to implement various convenience functionssuch as a function of providing target advertisement contents to theuser of the mobile terminal, based on the application execution historyinformation managed by the mobile terminal.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of theinvention, and together with the description serve to explain theinventive concepts.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internalconfiguration of a mobile terminal in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an applicationmanagement module of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing an applicationin accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system for providing targetadvertisement using the mobile terminal of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internalconfiguration of the target advertisement providing server of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internalconfiguration of a processor included in the target advertisementproviding server of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various exemplary embodiments or implementations of theinvention. As used herein “embodiments” and “implementations” areinterchangeable words that are non-limiting examples of devices ormethods employing one or more of the inventive concepts disclosedherein. It is apparent, however, that various exemplary embodiments maybe practiced without these specific details or with one or moreequivalent arrangements. In other instances, well-known structures anddevices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring various exemplary embodiments. Further, various exemplaryembodiments may be different, but do not have to be exclusive. Forexample, specific shapes, configurations, and characteristics of anexemplary embodiment may be used or implemented in another exemplaryembodiment without departing from the inventive concepts.

Unless otherwise specified, the illustrated exemplary embodiments are tobe understood as providing exemplary features of varying detail of someways in which the inventive concepts may be implemented in practice.Therefore, unless otherwise specified, the features, components,modules, layers, films, panels, regions, and/or aspects, etc.(hereinafter individually or collectively referred to as “elements”), ofthe various embodiments may be otherwise combined, separated,interchanged, and/or rearranged without departing from the inventiveconcepts.

In the accompanying drawings, the size and relative sizes of elementsmay be exaggerated for clarity and/or descriptive purposes. When anexemplary embodiment may be implemented differently, a specific processorder may be performed differently from the described order. Forexample, two consecutively described processes may be performedsubstantially at the same time or performed in an order opposite to thedescribed order. Also, like reference numerals denote like elements.

When an element is referred to as being “on,” “connected to,” or“coupled to” another element, it may be directly on, connected to, orcoupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present.When, however, an element is referred to as being “directly on,”“directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element, thereare no intervening elements present. To this end, the term “connected”may refer to physical, electrical, and/or fluid connection, with orwithout intervening elements. For the purposes of this disclosure, “atleast one of X, Y, and Z” and “at least one selected from the groupconsisting of X, Y, and Z” may be construed as X only, Y only, Z only,or any combination of two or more of X, Y, and Z, such as, for instance,XYZ, XYY, YZ, and ZZ. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any andall combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Although the terms “first,” “second,” etc. may be used herein todescribe various types of elements, these elements should not be limitedby these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element fromanother element. Thus, a first element discussed below could be termed asecond element without departing from the teachings of the disclosure.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “under,” “lower,”“above,” “upper,” “over,” “higher,” “side” (e.g., as in “sidewall”), andthe like, may be used herein for descriptive purposes, and, thereby, todescribe one elements relationship to another element(s) as illustratedin the drawings. Spatially relative terms are intended to encompassdifferent orientations of an apparatus in use, operation, and/ormanufacture in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. Forexample, if the apparatus in the drawings is turned over, elementsdescribed as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would thenbe oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplaryterm “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below.Furthermore, the apparatus may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90degrees or at other orientations), and, as such, the spatially relativedescriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms, “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Moreover,the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,”when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one ormore other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof. It is also noted that, as used herein, the terms“substantially,” “about,” and other similar terms, are used as terms ofapproximation and not as terms of degree, and, as such, are utilized toaccount for inherent deviations in measured, calculated, and/or providedvalues that would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art.

As customary in the field, some exemplary embodiments are described andillustrated in the accompanying drawings in terms of functional blocks,units, and/or modules. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatthese blocks, units, and/or modules are physically implemented byelectronic (or optical) circuits, such as logic circuits, discretecomponents, microprocessors, hard-wired circuits, memory elements,wiring connections, and the like, which may be formed usingsemiconductor-based fabrication techniques or other manufacturingtechnologies. In the case of the blocks, units, and/or modules beingimplemented by microprocessors or other similar hardware, they may beprogrammed and controlled using software (e.g., microcode) to performvarious functions discussed herein and may optionally be driven byfirmware and/or software. It is also contemplated that each block, unit,and/or module may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or as acombination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions and aprocessor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associatedcircuitry) to perform other functions. Also, each block, unit, and/ormodule of some exemplary embodiments may be physically separated intotwo or more interacting and discrete blocks, units, and/or moduleswithout departing from the scope of the inventive concepts. Further, theblocks, units, and/or modules of some exemplary embodiments may bephysically combined into more complex blocks, units, and/or moduleswithout departing from the scope of the inventive concepts.

For example, blocks of the accompanying block diagrams can be executedby computer program instructions (execution engine), and the computerprogram instructions can be mounted in a processor of a general-usecomputer, special-use computer or other programmable data processingequipment. Thus, the instructions executed through the processor of thecomputer or other programmable data processing equipment generate unitsfor performing functions described in the respective blocks of the blockdiagrams.

The computer program instructions can be stored in a computer usable orreadable memory aimed at the computer or other programmable dataprocessing equipment, in order to implement the functions through aspecific method. Thus, the instructions stored in the computer usable orreadable memory can be used to produce items including instruction unitsfor performing the functions described in the respective blocks of theblock diagrams.

Furthermore, computer program instructions can be mounted on thecomputer or other programmable data processing equipment. Therefore,instructions which generate processes executed by a computer through aseries of operation steps on the computer or other programmable dataprocessing equipment and operate the computer or other programmable dataprocessing equipment can provide functions for executing the functionsdescribed in the respective blocks of the block diagrams.

In addition, each of the blocks may indicate a part of a module, segmentor code including one or more executable instructions for executingspecific logical functions. In some substitutions, the functionsdescribed in the blocks or steps can be performed out of sequence.

That is, two blocks illustrated herein can be operated substantially atthe same time, and operated in the reverse sequence of the correspondingfunctions, if necessary.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure is a part. Terms,such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and should not be interpreted in anidealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.

Hereafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internalconfiguration of a mobile terminal in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating anapplication management module of FIG. 1. In addition, FIG. 3 is aflowchart illustrating a method of managing an application in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 110 may include a communicationmodule 111, a memory 112, a display module 113, an audio output module114, an application management module 115 and a controller 116.

The communication module 111 may be connected to an arbitrary internalcomponent or one or more arbitrary external devices through a network120. At this time, the one or more arbitrary external devices mayinclude a target advertisement providing server 130 illustrated in FIG.4. Here, examples of the wireless Internet technology may includeWireless LAN (WLAN), Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), WirelessBroadband (Wibro), World Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wimax),High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink PacketAccess (HSUPA), IEEE 802.16, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Long TermEvolution-Advanced (LTE-A), Wireless Mobile Broadband Service (WMBS),and the like, and the communication module 111 transmits/receives dataaccording to one or more of the wireless internet technologies in arange including even Internet technologies which are not listed in theabove-described examples. Furthermore, examples of the short rangecommunication technology may include Bluetooth, Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband(UWB), ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC), Ultra Sound Communication(USC), Visible Light Communication (VLC), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi),Wi-Fi Direct, and the like.

The communication module 111 may transmit/receive wireless signalsto/from a base station on a mobile communication network which isconstructed according to technology standards or communication methodsfor mobile communication, for example, Global System for Mobilecommunication (GSM), Code Division Multi Access (CDMA), Code DivisionMulti Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Enhanced Voice-Data Optimized (EV-DO) orEnhanced Voice-Data Only, Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), High Speed DownlinkPacket Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), LongTerm Evolution (LTE), Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTEA), and the like.

The memory 112 stores various user interfaces (UI), graphic userinterfaces (GUI) and the like. Also, the memory 112 stores data andprograms required for operating the mobile terminal 110. That is, thememory 112 may store a plurality of application programs driven by themobile terminal 110 and data and commands required for an operation ofthe mobile terminal 110. Hereafter, the application programs will bereferred to as ‘applications’. At least some of the applications may bedownloaded from an external server through wireless communication. Theapplications may be implemented as an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)application, conversation application, map application, mediaapplication (for example, QuickTime, MobileMusic.app, orMobileVideo.app), social networking application (for example, Facebookor Twitter), Internet browsing application and the like. Furthermore,the applications may include one or more applications to perform acommunication operation. For example, the applications may be consideredas a message application, mail program, voice mail program, instantmessaging application (for example, chatting), video conferencingapplication, fax application, or one or more combinations thereof. Theapplications may be stored in the memory 112, installed in the mobileterminal 110, and driven to perform an operation (or function) of themobile terminal 110 under control of the controller 116. The memory 112may include one or more storage media of a flash memory-type memory,hard disk-type memory, multimedia card micro-type memory, cart-typememory (for example, Secure Digital (SD) card or Extreme Digital (XD)memory), magnetic memory, magnetic disk, optical disk, Random AccessMemory (RAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Read-Only Memory(ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), andProgrammable Read-Only Memory (PROM). The mobile terminal 110 mayoperate a web storage to perform a storage function of the memory 112 onthe Internet, or operate in relation to the web storage.

The communication module 111 may transmit information on theapplications to the target advertisement providing server 130 throughthe network 120, under control of the controller 116. For example, theapplication information may include status information or executionhistory information of the applications, which is generated by theapplication management module 115. Thus, the target advertisementproviding server 130 may decide target advertisement contents suitablefor a user of the mobile terminal based on the application executionhistory information managed by the mobile terminal 110, and transmit thetarget advertisement contents to the mobile terminal.

The memory 112 may store the above-described execution historyinformation of the applications installed in the mobile terminal 110,under control of the controller 116.

The display module 113 may display various contents such as various menuscreens using a user interface and/or graphic user interface stored inthe memory 112 under control of the controller 116, and display anapplication execution result screen which is executed under control ofthe controller 116. The contents displayed on the display module 113include various texts or image data (including various information data)and a menu screen including data such as icons, list menus and comboboxes. The display module 113 may be implemented as an Liquid CrystalDisplay (LCD), Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), flexible display, 3Ddisplay, e-ink display, Light Emitting Diode (LED), or the like.

The audio output module 114 may output voice information included in asignal obtained by processing a predetermined signal under control ofthe controller 116. The audio output module 114 may include a receiver,speaker, buzzer and the like. Furthermore, the audio output module 114may output guide information corresponding to an application executionresult screen executed by control of the controller 116.

The application management module 115 performs an operation of receivingthe information of the plurality of applications stored in the memory112 and generating the corresponding status information of theapplications. More specifically, the application management module 115,which performs a function of checking whether the plurality ofapplications installed in the mobile terminal 110 are actually executed,may be downloaded from an external server through wirelesscommunication, stored in the memory 112, installed in the mobileterminal 110, and driven to perform a management operation (function)for the applications under control of the controller 116. In otherwords, the application management module 115 collects the information ofthe applications mounted in the mobile terminal 110, and generatesinformation for checking which one of the applications is actually used.For example, the information of the applications may be cache data sizeinformation of the respective applications. The size may indicate a datasize which is generally based on bit. The application management module115 may generate the status information on the plurality of applicationsinstalled in the mobile terminal 110, i.e. the execution historyinformation of the applications, by comparing the collected cache datasize information of the applications to reference values correspondingto the respective applications.

In other words, when an application is executed, an image including avideo may be changed or various scripts may be newly called, and theautomatically stored cache data of the application is also inevitablychanged in order to implement such a function. Thus, the applicationmanagement module 115 may determine which applications are actually usedby the user, by checking whether the cache data size of the applicationis changed. That is, the status information of the applications,generated through the application management module 115, may be used asthe execution history information on the plurality of applicationsinstalled in the mobile terminal 110.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the configuration of the applicationmanagement module 115 and the method of managing the application inaccordance with the exemplary embodiment will be described as follows.

The application management module 115 may include an applicationinformation collection unit 210 and a comparison unit 220.

The application information collection unit 210 collects the cache datasizes of the plurality of applications installed in the mobile terminal110 at preset time intervals at step ST310. At this time, the timeintervals may be set to 24 hours, for example. However, this is only anexemplary embodiment, and the present invention is not limited thereto.That is, the user may control the time intervals through the controller116.

The comparison unit 220 generates the status information correspondingto the applications by comparing the cache data size information of theapplications, collected by the application information collection unit210, to the reference values corresponding to the respectiveapplications, at step ST320. For example, the comparison unit 220 maycompare the cache data sizes of the respective applications, which havebeen finally accumulated before, to the cache data sizes of therespective applications, which are collected by the application isinformation collection unit 210, in order to determine the changes ofthe cache data sizes. That is, the cache data sizes of the respectiveapplications, which have been finally accumulated before, may be set tothe reference values. Furthermore, when the comparison by the comparisonunit 220 is completed, the cache data sizes of the applications,collected by the application information collection unit 210, may beupdated into the accumulated cache data sizes of the applications.

The status information of the respective applications, generated by theapplication management module 115, may be transmitted to the controller116, and used as information for determining the execution historyinformation of the plurality of applications installed in the mobileterminal 110, at step ST330.

The updated information and the execution history information of therespective applications, obtained through the comparison unit 220, maybe stored in the memory 112 at step ST340.

The controller 116 may sense whether the cache is excessively used for aspecific application, through the execution history information on theapplications. The application which excessively uses the cache may havea bad influence on the performance of the mobile terminal 110.Therefore, when sensing the application which excessively uses thecache, the controller 116 may warn the user about this situation throughthe display module 113 and/or the audio output module 114, and the usermay remove the corresponding application.

Through the execution history information on the applications, thecontroller 116 may sense whether an application is automaticallyexecuted and continuously operated as a background application, eventhough the application was not actually executed by the user. In thiscase, the controller 116 may warn the user about the sensing resultthrough the display module 113 and/or the audio output module 114, andthe user may remove the corresponding application.

Through the history execution information on the applications, thecontroller 116 may sense which applications are not frequently used bythe user. In this case, the controller 116 may warn the user about thesensing result through the display module 113 and/or the audio outputmodule 114, and the user may remove the corresponding application.

The controller 116 executes overall control functions of the mobileterminal 110. Furthermore, the controller 116 executes overall controlfunctions of the mobile terminal 110 using programs and data stored inthe memory 112. The controller 116 may include a RAM, ROM, CPU, GPU, andbus, and the RAM, ROM, CPU, and GPU may be connected to one anotherthrough the bus. The CPU may access the memory 112 to perform bootingusing an O/S stored in the memory 112, and perform various operationsusing various programs, contents, data and the like, which are stored inthe memory 112. The controller 116 may execute the applicationmanagement module 115 to perform a management operation (function) onthe applications. That is, as described above, the applicationmanagement module 115 may be enabled by the controller 116, compare thecache data size information of the applications to the reference valuescorresponding to the respective applications, and use the comparisonresults as the execution history information on the applicationsinstalled in the mobile terminal 110.

The mobile terminal 110 may further include an interface module (notillustrated) serving as an interface with all external devices connectedto the mobile terminal 110. For example, the interface module mayinclude a wired/wireless headset port, an external charger port, awired/wireless data port, a memory card port, an audio I/O(Input/Output) port, a video I/O port, an earphone port, and the like.

The mobile terminal 110 may further include an input module (notillustrated) which receives a signal according to a button manipulationor arbitrary function selection by the user, and receives a command orcontrol signal generated by a manipulation of touching/scrolling adisplayed screen. The input module may include a plurality of input keysand function keys for receiving number or character information andsetting various functions, as a unit for receiving one or more of acommand, selection, data and information of the user. The input modulemay include various devices such as a key pad, dome switch, touch pad(static pressure/capacitive), touch screen, jog wheel, jog switch, jotshuttle, mouse, stylus pen and touch pen. In particular, when thedisplay module 113 is configured in the form of a touch screen, all orpart of the input functions may be executed through the display module113. The components or modules of the mobile terminal 110 may beconfigured as software stored in the memory 112 of the mobile terminal110, and include a command set which controls the mobile terminal 110 toperform a specific operation, during execution.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system for providing targetadvertisement using the mobile terminal of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 4, a network environment in accordance with theexemplary embodiment includes a plurality of mobile terminals 110_1 to110_n, a network 120 and a target advertisement providing server 130.

The mobile terminals 110_1 to 110_n and the network 120 may beconfigured in the same manner as those described above with reference toFIGS. 1, 2, and 3.

The target advertisement providing server 130 may serve to providetarget advertisement contents while communicating with the mobileterminal 110 through the network 120, and include one or more serverdevices to provide commands, codes, files, contents, services and thelike. That is, the target advertisement providing server 130 may decidetarget advertisement contents suitable for users of the respectivemobile terminals 110_1 to 110_n based on application execution historyinformation on applications which are actually used by the users, andtransmit the target advertisement contents to the corresponding mobileterminals.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internalconfiguration of the target advertisement providing server of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 5, the target advertisement providing server 130includes a memory 132, a database 133, a processor 134, a communicationmodule 136 and an input/output (I/O) interface 138.

The memory 132, which is a computer-readable recording medium, mayinclude a permanent mass storage device such as a Random Access Memory(RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), or disk drive. Furthermore, the memory132 may store an O/S and one or more program codes. Such softwarecomponents may be loaded from a computer-readable recording mediumseparate from the memory 132 through a drive mechanism. Such a separatecomputer-readable recording medium may include recording media such as afloppy drive, disk, tape, DVD/CD-ROM drive, and memory card. Thesoftware components may also be loaded to the memory 132 through thecommunication module 136.

The database 133 may store and retain advertisement contents which canbe provided by the target advertisement providing server 130 inaccordance with the exemplary embodiment. The advertisement contents maybe classified by field, and stored and retained in the database 133. Forexample, the advertisement contents may be classified into fashion,shopping, books, travel, food life, home appliance/furniture, andregional characteristics.

The processor 134 may be configured to process a command of a computerprogram by executing a basic arithmetic, logic or I/O operation. Thecommand may be provided to the processor 134 by the memory 132 or thecommunication module 136. For example, the processor 134 may beconfigured to execute a command which is received according to a programcode stored in a storage device such as the memory 132.

The communication module 136 may provide a function for communicationbetween the mobile terminal 110 and the target advertisement providingserver 130 through the network 120. For example, a control signal,command, contents, file, and the like, which are provided under controlof the processor 134 of the server 130, may be transmitted to the mobileterminal 110 through the communication module 136 via the network 120.

The I/O interface 138 may serve as an interface between an input devicesuch as a keyboard or mouse and an output device such as a display.

The target advertisement providing server 130 in accordance with theexemplary embodiment analyzes user behavior information based on theexecution history information of the applications transmitted from themobile terminal 110, selects target advertisement contents suitable forthe user's field of interest in response to the analysis result, andtransmits the selected target advertisement contents to the mobileterminal 110. That is, the target advertisement providing server 130 maycheck an application which has been recently used by the mobile terminal110, through the execution history information of the applications. Inthis case, the target advertisement providing server 130 may selectadvertisement contents related to the recently used application as thetarget advertisement contents, and provide the selected advertisementcontents.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internalconfiguration of the processor included in the target advertisementproviding server of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, the processor 134 of the target advertisementproviding server 130 may include a data collection unit 310, a dataprocessing unit 320, an advertisement contents selection unit 330 and anadvertisement contents providing unit 340. The processor 134 may beconfigured to execute an instruction based on codes of the O/S and oneor more program codes, which are included in the memory 132. At thistime, the internal components within the processor 134, that is, thedata collection unit 310, the data processing unit 320, theadvertisement contents selection unit 330 and the advertisement contentsproviding unit 340 may be considered as different functions which areperformed by the processor 134 according to a control command providedby a program code stored in the server 130.

For example, the data collection unit 310 may indicate a function ofcollecting execution history information of applications, transmittedfrom the respective mobile terminals 110, and the data processing unit320 may indicate a function of processing the tendencies of users basedon the execution history information of the respective mobile terminals110. Furthermore, the advertisement contents selection unit 330 mayindicate a function of selecting target advertisement contents suitablefor a user's field of interest among the advertisement contentsstored/retained in the database 133 in response to the analysis resultof the data processing unit 320, and the advertisement contentsproviding unit 340 may indicate a function of transmitting the selectedtarget advertisement contents to the mobile terminal 110.

The data processing unit 320 may classify the personal characteristicsof each user based on the tendency of the user, and set the user to atarget customer for each field, into which fashion, shopping, books,travel, food life, home appliance/furniture, or regional characteristicsis reflected, in response to the classified personal characteristics ofthe user.

When a user is included in target customers of a specific fieldaccording to user behavior information which is analyzed based on theadvertisement identifiers, the advertisement contents selection unit 330may select target advertisement contents suitable for the user's fieldof interest among the advertisement contents stored/retained in thedatabase 133.

By analyzing the execution history information of the applications foreach of the mobile terminals 110, the processor 134 may determine thetendency of applications which have been recently used by thecorresponding user, which makes it possible to decide the tendency ofthe user more accurately. For example, when the recent usage frequencyof shopping applications is high, it may indicate that the user has ahigh purchasing need, and when the recent usage frequency ofhealth-related applications is high, it may indicate that the user has alot of concern for health. The processor 134 may decide a matter ofrecent interest of each user based on the analysis result of theexecution history information of the applications for each of the mobileterminals, and select target advertisement contents related to thematter of interest.

Then, the advertisement contents providing unit 340 may transmit theselected target advertisement contents to the mobile terminal 110,thereby providing the optimized target advertisement to the user.

Although certain exemplary embodiments and implementations have beendescribed herein, other embodiments and modifications will be apparentfrom this description. Accordingly, the inventive concepts are notlimited to such embodiments, but rather to the broader scope of theappended claims and various obvious modifications and equivalentarrangements as would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in theart.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile terminal comprising: a memory having aplurality of applications stored therein; an application managementmodule configured to receive application information corresponding tothe respective applications, and generate status information of theapplications, corresponding to the application information; and acontroller configured to determine execution history information of theapplications through the status information provided from theapplication management module, wherein the application management modulecomprises: an application information collection unit configured tocollect cache data size information of the respective applications atpreset time intervals; and a comparison unit configured to generate thestatus information of the applications by comparing the cache data sizeinformation of the applications collected by the application informationcollection unit to reference values corresponding to the respectiveapplications.
 2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising acommunication module configured to transmit the status information orthe execution history information of the applications to an externalserver through a network under control of the controller.
 3. The mobileterminal of claim 1, further comprising a display module configured todisplay a result to a user, the result being sensed by the controllerbased on the status information or the execution history information ofthe applications.
 4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprisingan audio output module configured to output a result sensed by thecontroller based on the status information or the execution historyinformation of the applications as an audio signal to a user.
 5. Themobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the reference values correspondingto the respective applications indicate accumulated cache data sizeinformation of the respective applications before the cache data sizeinformation are collected by the application information collectionunit.
 6. An application management method for managing an application ofa mobile terminal, comprising: receiving application informationcorresponding to a plurality of applications stored in a memory;generating status information corresponding to the respectiveapplications by comparing the received application information toreference values of the respective applications; determining executionshistory information of the respective applications based on the statusinformation; and storing the execution history information of therespective applications and the status information corresponding to therespective applications.
 7. The application management method of claim6, wherein the status information corresponding to the respectiveapplications comprises cache data size information of the respectiveapplications.
 8. The application management method of claim 7, whereinthe reference values corresponding to the respective applicationsindicate accumulated cache data size information of the respectiveapplications before receiving application cache data.
 9. The applicationmanagement method of claim 6, further comprising transmitting the statusinformation or the execution history information of the applications toan external server through a network.
 10. The application managementmethod of claim 6, further comprising displaying a sensing result to auser, the sensing result being generated based on the status informationor the execution history information of the applications.
 11. Theapplication management method of claim 6, further comprising outputtinga sensing result as an audio signal to a user, the sensing result beinggenerated based on the status information or the execution historyinformation of the applications.
 12. A target advertisement providingsystem for providing a target advertisement, comprising: a mobileterminal having a plurality of applications installed therein; a networkconfigured to provide a wireless communication environment to the mobileterminal; and a target advertisement providing server configured toreceive status information or execution history information of theapplications, transmitted from the mobile terminal, while communicatingwith the mobile terminal through the network, select a content of thetarget advertisement based on the status information or the executionhistory information, and transmit the selected content of the targetadvertisement to the mobile terminal.
 13. The target advertisementproviding system according to claim 12, wherein the mobile terminalcomprises: a memory having the plurality of applications stored therein;an application management module comprising an application informationcollection unit configured to collect cache data size information of therespective applications at preset time intervals; and a comparison unitconfigured to generate the status information of the applications bycomparing the cache data size information of the applications, collectedby the application information collection unit, to reference valuescorresponding to the respective applications; and a controllerconfigured to determine the execution history information of theapplications based on the status information provided from theapplication management module.
 14. The target advertisement providingsystem according to claim 13, wherein the reference values correspondingto the applications indicate accumulated cache data size information ofthe respective applications before the cache data size information arecollected by the application information collection unit.
 15. The targetadvertisement providing system according to claim 12, wherein the targetadvertisement providing server comprises a memory, a database, aprocessor, a communication module, and an input/output interface, andthe database is configured to store and retain content which is providedby the target advertisement providing server and classified by field.16. The target advertisement providing system according to claim 15,wherein the processor comprises: a data collection unit configured tocollect the execution history information of the applications,transmitted from the mobile terminal; a data processing unit configuredto analyze and process a user's tendency based on the execution historyinformation of the mobile terminal; an advertisement contents selectionunit configured to select content of the target advertisement suitablefor a user's field of interest among the content stored/retained in thedatabase in response to the analysis result of the data processing unit;and an advertisement contents providing unit configured to transmit theselected content of the target advertisement to the mobile terminal.